


Screaming

by ShadowsIntoLight



Category: Naruto
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Kinda abandoned - I'm not good at this, Mental Instability, Torture, fixing the broken, hopefullly team seven will fix it, my first naruto fanfic, really dark beginning, we'll see how this goes, young Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-11-07 13:43:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11060196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowsIntoLight/pseuds/ShadowsIntoLight
Summary: He remembered the look on his face. The shock, the surprise. The disbelief. He remembers his own face, grinning despite the horror that grew and the sourness in his stomach. How he laughed and laughed and laughed-...And he began to scream, eyes wide as he gasped and choked in fright, backing up as far as he could until he touched the headboard of the bed and couldn’t go any farther, as the grey walls of the room closed in on him, as the lights flickered, and as he began to hear the laugh, that horrible laugh as it echoed in his mind, and he wailed.The laugh was his own.-In which Naruto is held hostage for a month, and is returned to Konoha as little more than a shell.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I've finally gotten up the courage to write a Naruto fanfic, which was hard as the hardest fanfiction I've ever written was Pokemon on FFN and Naruto has such a complex story I'm scared I'll ruin it omg

He remembered the look on his face. The shock, the surprise. The disbelief. He remembers his own face, grinning despite the horror that grew and the sourness in his stomach. How he laughed and laughed and _laughed_ -

He remembers the blood, as it poured out of his eye, like a dam had been broken and the water behind it surging to escape; he can recall the vivid bright red of it, the way it shone from the single lightbulb that hung from the ceiling. He remembers the sharp cutting edge of the stone as he pulled it out of his eye and then stabbed it into his throat, as he stabbed and stabbed and _stabbed_ , until the blood had stopped flowing and grew dry and brown;  it coated his hands while he worked and he wiped them on his jumpsuit-

He can see the room easily, the dark grey walls, the striking shadows the surrounded him. The smell of earth, of soil; the stench of decay from the last victim that was partially decomposed, the reek of vomit afterwards. The plate and chipped cup that sat _just_ too far for him to reach, the buzz that was emmitted by the lightbulb as it flickered - day and night, day and night - how he heard the _thunk_ of footsteps as he came down the ladder into his room.

The bright shine of the silver instruments in the dark, the sharp pain that he felt when they sliced through skin like tissue; the dulling of the pain that came with the sleeping pills he was fed-

He remembers how he grew silent in the room. How he went from laughing to hysterical to sobbing to silent.  How it played over and over and over again, over and over and _over-_

 **_“Come on brat, let me hear you_ ** **scream** **_.”_ **

He can’t stop _remembering_.

* * *

 

ANBU Hawk saw his teammate slow down, and signalled the leader to halt.

“What is it Rat?” he spoke quietly, his eyes watching their surroundings cautiously. They’d been searching Fire Country for a few days now, in a rotation with other ANBU.

“I smell something. Coppery, a bit sweet. Definitely blood. We should investigate.” Rat replied. Hawk nodded, and their team leader Wolf urged Rat to follow the smell. Rat was an Inuzuka after all, and even without their dogs to help, their senses were unlike any human’s own.

Rat led them towards a small clearing filled with overgrown grass and other plants. It would have probably been dismissed by ANBU normally, except for the fact that today they noticed a small indent in the earth, with no patches of grass growing on it. Bending down, Wolf tapped on it, resting his ear near the earth. He curled his hand into a fist, and tapped a second time, this time a bit harder.

“It’s hollow. This isn’t ground.” he said, and began digging at it.  The soil easily shifted away to reveal a metal latch built into the ground.

Rat sniffed. “That’s definitely where the smell is coming from.”

Wolf turned to Hawk as he pulled his radio out of his belt. “Hawk, investigate. Rat, cover him. I’m going to call for some backup. This could be dangerous.”

Hawk nodded, and pulled on the latch of the door, grunting as it slowly lifted to reveal a rusty ladder leading down into a dark hole in the ground. Hawk went first, with Rat ready to follow.

The ladder lead to another door, and although there was a keyhole, he opened it with ease. Rat recoiled as it slowly opened. “The smell is really strong in there. Overpowering.”

Holding out a kunai, Hawk looked into the room, taking in the scene.

A body lied on the middle of the floor of the small stone cellar, with a vast amount of dried blood around it, probably from from it’s head and neck wounds. And curled in on themself was a child, covered in a lot of the blood, not moving.

Signalling Rat, he walked slowly towards the child as his partner went to look at the body. The kid was filthy and scrawny, his bones showing through skin. Hawk decided to speak.

“Kid, are you alright?” he said softly, but the child didn’t move a muscle, not even to acknowledge his voice. Hawk slowly moved his arm out, taking a risky step.

His fingertips had just grazed the child when his eyes were met with blue ones, and underneath all the grime, even Hawk could recognize the whisker scars on his cheeks.

“Uzumaki Naruto, right?” _The kid we’ve been looking for._

Naruto said nothing to him, just looked at him with wide eyes.

“We’re from Konoha. We’re here to find you.” Hawk said. Behind him, Rat made a sudden hand seal, and the body went into a scroll.

He reached for the one of the child’s hands, the fisted one. He gently pried it open to grasp a small piece of rock, covered in crusty blood from the body on the floor.

Using his other hand, Hawk gripped Naruto’s back, and after pocketing the weapon, used his opposite hand to lift under the boy. He was stopped by the clink of a chain. It was a cuff, wrapped around the child’s skinny ankle and attached to the wall; made of iron, but a quick slash with the blade of Hawk’s kunai broke it easily.

Rat went ahead of him, up the ladder, and Hawk channled chakra to his feet to stick to the ladder rungs as he carried the child towards the surface.

* * *

 

When he woke up, he was still in the room.

Except the walls weren’t gray. They were blue. The room didn’t have blue walls.

And there was lights on the ceiling. Long ones, that stretched vertically across the ceiling. Not lone lightbulbs. These ones didn’t flicker.

And he wasn’t on the floor anymore, no longer shivering. Instead, he was covered by a blanket and the room was fairly warm 

He wasn’t in the room anymore. Where was he?

Just as soon as he noticed it, the lone door in his room swung open to reveal a woman in a white uniform. She held a clipboard in her arms, and smiled when she saw him.

“Hello Uzumaki-san! Good to see you’re awake. 

In that moment, the walls bled grey, and he was back-

- _in the room, alone. He couldn’t remember how he got there, just that he woke up there. And the door opened and shut just as quickly, slamming closed. A tall man walked into the room, smiling. He could only watch as the man stepped closer to him, in his hand a small blade, a shinobi weapon._

**_“Good to see you’re awake, brat.”_ **

_He shook as he came closer, but he was afraid; afraid of the man, afraid of the room, afraid of the shiny weapon in his hand and the man bent down into a crouch to look at his face._

**_“Like the sky, those eyes are. So hopeful. So innocent.”_ **

_In a swift movement, the blade sliced his cheek, and he felt a flash of pain. His hand reached up, and came away sticky with red._

**_“I’m going to make you scream.”_ **

And he began to scream, eyes wide as he gasped and choked in fright, backing up as far as he could until he touched the headboard of the bed and couldn’t go any farther, as the grey walls of the room closed in on him, as the lights flickered, and as he began to hear the laugh, that horrible laugh as it echoed in his mind, and he _wailed_.

The laugh was his own.


	2. Chapter 2

 

**4 Days After Capture**

The Third Hokage was a busy man at the best of times. Being a Kage wasn’t an easy job, and although he didn’t mind reclaiming the hat when Minato passes away, he was still hopeful that a talented successor would show themselves soon. He’d already retired once, and he’d like to stay retired this time.

As overworked as he was, when Umino Iruka approached him on a Thursday afternoon and told him that Naruto hadn’t shown up to school since the Friday before and he hadn’t seen him anywhere, alarm bells began to go off in his mind. Naruto was a good kid, and he did know that he needed to go to school if he wanted to graduate and become a Genin.

After promising Iruka that he would find Naruto, the Hokage immediately signalled for ANBU, who melted out of the shadows effortlessly.

“Tiger, Mouse, Mantis and Cat, search the village for Uzumaki Naruto. There’s no need to catch him, just make sure he is alright.” the Sandaime said, and the masked figures vanished.

It was around 10 o’clock that evening when Tiger reappeared in his office. Three of his fellow ANBU were behind him, the same as the ones that morning.

“Mouse, Mantis, Cat and I have searched the entire village. We found no sign of the boy. We did find his apartment, and the door was wide open. There was one styrofoam ramen cup on his counter that wasn’t empty, but the broth was cold. There is no recent smells in the house either. No one has been in it for days.” Tiger stated.

Sarutobi’s face was stony. “Was there any signs of a struggle, or anything missing from the house? Did he leave or was he taken?”

“Taken. There’s items strewed around the room as though the child was preparing to leave his house, but the half-finished food and shoes by the door suggest he didn’t leave of his own free will.” the ANBU in the Mouse mask replied.

The Hokage took in the information quietly, and there was silence for a few minutes, until he sighed.

“Gather two teams of ANBU and send them to search outside the village. Make sure there’s a tracker of some sort on both teams and make sure they depart immediately. This mission is an S-Class order. If the culprit turns out to be another village, we could lose our village’s-” he said the word with a bitter scowl, “jinchuuriki.”

The ANBU present nodded before leaving the room swiftly.

* * *

 

**2 Weeks, 4 Days After Capture**   
They finally found the child. ANBU Wolf had called for backup from Konoha, and returned with not only five other ANBU, but a silent Naruto in the arms of Hawk and a body scroll in Rat’s possession.

Hiruzen sent the body scroll to T&I and then followed the ANBU to the hospital where a doctor directed them to a room and left Naruto to sleep. He went back to his office with the ANBU tailing him, and as he sat down in his chair, he felt a sudden heaviness in his bones.

“Alright, debrief.” he said.

The tale that unraveled from there left the Hokage with a wave of guilt washing over him. That Naruto had been held captive underground in the darkness for so long, that he’d broken to the point of stabbing his captor to death, and the thought of many unknown horrors still a mystery to them gave him a sharp, bitter feeling of devastation. He’d failed Minato’s son.

“Dismissed.” was all he could say. And when they left, for a brief moment, he allowed himself to sink into sorrow. 

* * *

 

**2 Weeks, 5 Days After Capture**

When a medical shinobi from the hospital came to see him reporting that Uzumaki Naruto had awoken and was in a state of panic, he had prepared himself to handle the trauma that the child had most likely been subjected to.

When he arrived at the scene to hear a blood-curdling wail, he found himself flinching. The sound was something he hadn’t heard in many years, a sound that he recalled coming from the drying throes of his enemies on the battlefield as they were burned alive, among other unfortunate ends.

He hurried into the room to see a doctor frozen in shock, the poor woman not expecting such a reaction from the small boy. Hiruzen propelled himself forward, reaching the form of the boy huddled by the headboard and the source of the terrible sound, and grasped his shoulder, his grip ever so slightly tight.

“Naruto. Look at me.”

He tightened his grip a bit, as the boy’s eyes seemed to clear a bit. His mouth shut, the scream fading as it became just air, Naruto’s chest moving a bit too fast as he breathed in oxygen.

“Naruto, focus on me. Who am I? Where are you?”

The blond finally took in the wrinkled face of the Sandaime, and his blue eyes sharpened a bit as they reoriented with the room. He didn’t speak, just sort of shuddered for a moment before growing still.

“You are home, Naruto. You are safe.” the Hokage said, and despite the unease that rolled within him, gave a small smile to the boy.

And although he made no sound, Naruto’s face became wet as tears streamed down his whiskered cheeks, just looking at the man he considered a grandfather of sorts.

* * *

 

**3 Weeks After Capture**

As Naruto became accustomed to his room in the hospital, his life began to settle into a routine.

He’d wake up (sometimes in the middle of the night from dreams that haunted him), stare out the lone window in his room (which had the curtains fully drawn all the time; once a nurse shut them one morning since the sun was especially bright and he’d begun to panic again, so they were always left alone), eat his slowly larger portions of food (anything was more than what little he’d been given before, always slices of bread and a glass of water, sometimes something meaty that he couldn’t identify), and then watch the window until lunch, and then again until dinner. In between a nurse checked up on him daily, using a glowing green light to study him.

Occasionally he had a visitor. The Hokage came as often as he could, which made Naruto a bit happier. The Third was the closest he could recall to a guardian, he’d brought him sweets and treated him to ramen while listening to Naruto’s stories about his day when he had time, or more recently, his tales of the Academy. Now the Hokage would just sit with him, or tell him about the hard work he did all day, or even a tale of his adventures as a shinobi.

Sometimes, Iruka-sensei would see him as well. His teacher, who he didn’t know too much about yet, was the one who first got worried about him and was how they started looking for him. The first time he visited, he brought with him a stack of homework, a take-out bowl from Ichiraku’s (he couldn’t finish it, his stomach didn’t feel good) and a book about chakra. Every time Iruka visited, he would talk to him a bit, and read to him from the book. It was something Naruto looked forward too.

Once, and only once, a man with long blond hair came to speak to him. He had a sharp face, and green eyes, with his hair in a ponytail. He sat down in a chair near the bed and asked Naruto a few questions.

“Your name is Naruto, right?”

He gave a stiff nod at the question, and the man seemed to realize that he wasn’t going to talk, so he took a different approach.

“My name is Yamanaka Inoichi. Can I ask you some questions about what you remember from when you were gone?”

Naruto didn't want to answer questions, because he knew answering anything would only lead him to thinking about memories he didn't like to dwell on. He frowned and shook his head quickly.

“Alright. Can I ask you why you’re looking at that window so much? I have an old friend, Shikaku Nara, and he looks at clouds for fun. Are you watching the clouds?”

Naruto didn’t reply. No one had asked him about his need to look outside, and he didn’t talk to anyone anyway. He couldn’t.

“Do you like looking at the sky then? I must admit, it’s a very bright shade of blue today.”

_Nononononono he wouldn’t think about that-_

Naruto must have shown something on his face, something like displeasure (or maybe fear), because Inoichi didn’t talk about the sky anymore. He was quiet for a bit.

“Is there a reason you don’t want to speak to anyone, Naruto?”

He couldn’t talk. He couldn’t. If he did, he knew what he’d start talking about. He'd talk about the way the blood pooled around the body, the darkness that surrounded him in that room, the way he laughed as he watched him die-

He couldn't hold it in; a small whimper fell from his lips as he lifted his hands up to cover his face, palms digging into his eyes as he tried to stop thinking.

“I-I can’t speak anymore.” He managed to say, voice pained as he pushed the few words out. Inoichi looked at him, a bit surprised that he had said anything.

But then he pushed him again.

“Why, Naruto? Why do you force yourself to stay silent?” Inoichi said slowly.

The older man had an idea of what was going on; many shinobi returned from long-term capture and didn’t act the same as they once had; many clammed up and spoke very little or nothing at all, and it would take years of therapy to help, if at all.

Naruto looked up at him, his eyes dark, filled with a terrible pain. His hands were now gripping the bed tightly, sheets scrunched up in his grip.

He opened his mouth like he wanted to speak again, but then shut it, before turning his head away from the Yamanaka man.

Inoichi got up from his chair.

“I’ll leave you for now. If you ever want to speak to someone, you can always talk with me. I don’t want you to be silent for the rest of your life. You can ask anyone who comes in that you’d like to see me, and they’ll let me know. Have a good day, Naruto.”

And then he walked out the door, and Naruto was alone again. Alone with his thoughts.

The window was suddenly less appealing.


	3. Chapter 3

**3 Weeks, 4 Days After Capture**

“He’s perfectly fine physically, any injuries from his kidnapping and period of capture have healed completely, probably the Kyuubi’s influence on the boy’s chakra and body. We found some faint residue of poison, but any effects it might have once had have been destroyed by the fox as well. He can be released from the hospital.” Naruto’s main doctor told the Hokage. “Mentally, however, according to the report Inoichi wrote, the boy is still traumatised. He shows symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and doesn’t speak unless pushed, which isn’t the best way to help with recovery. Whether or not he continues in the Academy is up to you, Hokage-sama.” 

The Hokage frowned. He knew how much Naruto wanted to be a shinobi, and one day Hokage, but the life of a ninja wasn’t cute or fun, it was brutal and bloody, and he wasn’t sure Naruto could handle it in his current state.

“Thank you Hagane-san.” Sarutobi said, and the man nodded, before walking away to deal with other patients. 

The Hokage turned the doorknob, entering the hospital room to see Naruto sitting up in his bed and looking out the window near his bed avidly.

“Naruto?” he called out. The boy turned at the sound of his voice, and the corners of his mouth turned a bit.

“I need to ask you something important, and you need to answer me.” 

Naruto nodded, although he looked uncertain.

“Are you going to be able to continue with your dream, or are you going to let this hold you down?”

The blond looked at him with wide eyes, and the Hokage could tell that his brain was going a mile a minute. Sarutobi knew that Naruto could be a ninja, he believed in him. But if the boy didn’t believe in himself, he’d never fully recover enough to be a real shinobi.

“A ninja’s way of life is difficult. I don’t want to see you break from that pressure, or even worse, be killed for not being able to stay focused on a mission. Can you promise me that you can move past this?” he said calmly. 

Naruto’s eyebrows scrunched in worry for a moment, before he closed his eyes and his face relaxed. Taking a deep breath, he opened them wide and looked straight at the Hokage.

“I-I can.” he said, shakily. Then Naruto repeated himself more clearly. “I will.”

Even with a response quieter than a mouse, the Third smiled. He had hope again, that this wouldn’t be the end of such a determined child. That, he was certain of.

* * *

 

**3 Weeks, 5 Days After Capture**

The next morning, Naruto was released from the hospital. His orange jumpsuit, which he had always worn everyday, was a mess, and definitely not salvageable. But the nurse who usually came by his room (and who he’d begun talking to, if only hesitantly) found him an orange top and black pants in the hospital’s ninja clothing storage along with some shoes; the outfit, although not as orange as he would have liked, did nicely.

He was walked to his apartment by Iruka, who came to visit and decided to keep him company since he was newly released. The shinobi was a nice friend to talk to, even with the lecture that came about from the disaster sight of his home. After a quick tidy up by both of them, the place looked a bit better than it had when they started, and the mess that was left didn’t seem as bad.

Iruka made him sit down as he ventured into the kitchen to make him a cup of ramen. Naruto found himself somehow at his table, the only table he ate at. On top of it still rested a ramen cup.

_ He’d heard something- a rustling, shuffling, some form of movement, he was certain- but dismissed it. The neighbourhood he lived in, while not the nicest, wasn’t known for it’s break-ins; sometimes on his birthday, he sometimes heard thumping noises on his front door, or rocks through the windows, but nothing serious.  _

_ Another sound, this time a bit louder, and he turned to glance around his room, putting his chopsticks down for a moment. Whatever this was, it was distracting him from his ramen, and it was never as good once it grew cold! _

_ Shaking his head, he turned back to his meal, and was about to pick up his utensils again when he heard a swishing sound, followed by a sudden pain that flashed in the back of his head. The last thought he had as his vision swam to black was that his ramen was going to get cold if he didn’t finish it soon- _

“Naruto?! Are you okay?” the concerned tone of Iruka-sensei brought him back, and he blinked before looking at the old ramen cup again, feeling a lump grow in his throat. Just seeing it there made him uncomfortable, and with a sudden movement and burst of emotion, he shot out his arm and knocked over the cup, and watched the remains of the broth pour out across the table with long strands and short bits of noodle and garnish.

And then he was suddenly looking at the broth as it became red, shiny in the light and such a rich colour, fresh as it pooled beneath the body, and he was breathing fast as Iruka-sensei found towels and he couldn’t stop the single hiccuping laugh that bubbled up from his throat in between breaths, and his thoughts just seemed to never stop going, never slow down, and all he ever saw was memories of that time, of that room, of that man, and why couldn’t he just stop?!

“W-What’s  _ wrong  _ with m-me?” he gasped, and the Chuunin halted in his dabbing at the liquid all over the table and reached out, his hand wrapping around one of Naruto’s wrists.

“There is nothing wrong with you, Naruto. You’re like a jigsaw puzzle, and you are just slowly putting the pieces of your life back into place, and they don’t all fit in the same way or in the same spot anymore, but eventually you’ll find a place for them and the picture will be whole again. It just takes time.” Iruka said calmly, his voice soft.  He let go after a moment, and finished cleaning up the spilled food 

“Now, let me grab you a newer cup of ramen. I’m sure it will taste wonderful!”

* * *

 

**4 Weeks After Capture**

“Class, Naruto is going to be joining our classes again, he’s been gone for quite a while, but I ask that none of you ask him about where he was. If he chooses to talk to you about it, then I ask that you respect his privacy and do not run around sharing with the rest of the class. Is that understood?” Iruka said, his words drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Iruka then walked to the door and opened it, revealing Naruto in an unusual outfit with only a single item of orange in it, and the boy’s eyes were on the floor as he quickly shuffled into the room and walked to the only empty table, one near the back of the room.

A few students whispered as he walked by, but none of them called out to him.

As Naruto settled into his seat quietly, Iruka began to start his lecture on the Second Shinobi World War, and within minutes the blond was feeling a bit more normal, as he tuned out the lesson and pulled out some paper to doodle on.

* * *

 

“The body itself, while mutilated in the facial area, was matched with the fingerprints of Kanaki Taji, a Jounin level nukenin from Takigakure. According to the bingo book and our own sources, he vanished a few years ago after he went mad after being tortured for information by Kumo and found a morbid new fascination in testing the point where people break under stress through torture, at which point where they no longer pose an interest to him, he kills them. He’s kidnapped many people of various ages, gender and careers, and was discovered at some point by the leader of Taki and was forced to flee. Since then, he’s wandered around the Shinobi Nations, sticking closer to Ta no Kuni and Yu no Kuni. Unusual for a nukenin to linger so close to their former village.” ANBU Rabbit said, one of the few ANBU stationed in the Torture and Interrogation department. 

The building was also the place information was stored as well as the morgue, as many of Konoha’s Yamanaka had some skills in retrieving information from bodies of ninja. 

The Hokage nodded. “What caused him to take Uzumaki Naruto though?

Rabbit shrugged. “Our best guess, it was right place, right time. We found no evidence in his records of any knowledge of Konoha’s affairs. He must have just happened to wander into Konoha looking for a target and set his sights on Naruto is all. Being an orphan, he probably thought he wouldn’t be searched for, let alone be chased down by ANBU.”

“Thank you Rabbit. Dismissed.” Sarutobi said, and the ANBU bowed before leaving.

_ Something else is going on. This doesn’t make sense. _

* * *

 

**1 Month After Capture**

His grip on the dulled kunai was tight, as though he held it with a death grip. The entire class was outside, and Iruka-sensei was explaining how to throw kunai properly. The kids with their kunai were only half-listening, and Iruka had already broken up a fight between Kiba and Sasuke (which was really quite one-sided; Sasuke was the top student in the class). 

“Now, line up in front of the targets and try throwing them. Aim for just a little bit above the centre of the target and make sure you’re relaxed when throwing or the tension will make it harder to throw...”

He watched as Shikamaru laid on the grass, not even trying to throw his kunai. Sasuke was repeatedly throwing and retrieving his blade from the bull's-eye of the target, and Ino chatted with Sakura about how amazing Sasuke was.

Naruto glanced down at the kunai in his hand, the edges just sharp enough to stick into the target, but not sharp enough to potentially harm another student without a lot of effort. He traced the pad of his index finger along the side of the blade, feeling the cool edge.

It wasn’t nearly as sharp as the other one, the one that _ had went down along his left forearm, a trail of red following it as it slowly slid up past his elbow and when he couldn’t stay still anymore, struggled a bit, and caused the blade to stab into his shoulder with a fiery pain unlike anything he’d experienced before, and he saw the smile that spread across the man’s face, like a child who took an experiment too far but was fascinated with the results- _

He dropped the kunai out of his grip, staggering back from it like his hand had been burned. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on pushing the memory away, pulling his mind back to the class, to the sun shining too bright.  

He could do this. He would do this. He would become a ninja.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. Boring stuff really. But I got quite a bit down. Now I'm stuck at Wave, since it's so boring to write.... :-/


	4. Chapter 4

**4 Months After Capture**

A new school year had started a while back, and so far the instruction was focusing on learning basic ninja skills. Naruto found himself watching most shurikenjutsu lessons from afar, still participating but usually when none of the other students were watching.

Ninjutsu was a struggle, as the beginner techniques that the teachers were teaching didn’t work when he used them, creating half-dead clones and poor imitations. His genjutsu was terrible, and although he could do taijutsu alright, overall he wasn’t doing very well.

As hard as he tried, he would still have flashbacks, sometimes even during class when doing work or when he was called on, and it would take a few minutes to pull himself back. Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei would call on another student when it happened, but many kids would look at him with questioning stares every time.

But the memories were fading, bit by bit. The nightmares became less frequent, and he was slowly gaining a steady place in his life to build on. He looked at weapons without fear, fought other students in mock-battles without panicking, and no longer flinched when people touched him. He was feeling better.

Until that afternoon.

It was a Wednesday, and they were outside for a break, just playing around, when a shuriken flew past his head, close enough that it sliced just barely into his cheek. It whistled past him and embedded itself in a nearby tree.

The faint pain in his face caused Naruto to shudder slightly, before shaking it off and turning around to face the person who’d thrown the object.

“What’s with you?! You shouldn’t throw weapons so close to people’s heads!” he shouted, but his heart was thudding rapidly as he pushed himself into reality.

“Tch. Maybe you should watch out. A good shinobi should be able to notice a shuriken flying near them. Besides, it was blunt; that scratch is nothing.” The dark haired boy replied.

“I am a good ninja, maybe I was just too busy trying not to look at your face!” Naruto yelled towards Sasuke, growing angrier by the minute. Other students had begun gathering around, and a distinct “...troublesome.” could be heard as well.

Everyone knew Uchiha Sasuke was a little unstable after the complete massacre of his family only a year prior, by his own brother no less. He never even gave the time of day to anyone, always training. It was unusual of him to pick a fight.

And yet, the Uchiha scowled before a very faint smirk grew on his lips. “Well, even you, the dead last, should be able to comprehend that a good ninja needs to be able to take a scratch without shaking like a leaf.”

Naruto’s face paled.  _ He saw that?! _

But Sasuke wasn’t done.    
  
“I mean, you’re not even worth training. You space out in class all the time, for no reason. You’re just cannon fodder for us real shinobi. An orphan who won’t be remembered. You’ll just be dea-”

With a cry of rage, Naruto leapt at the other boy, slamming him into the ground. Sasuke grunted as the air left his lungs, but quickly regained his senses and swung his left fist at the blond, hitting him hard in the same cheek he’d sliced, and knocking Naruto off of him and onto the ground.

Naruto felt his skull hit the earth and quickly pushed himself back up, but was hit in the side by a swift kick that caused his knees to buckle as the pain rippled through his body. But he latched onto the foot with both arms, pulling Sasuke’s other foot out from under him in a loss of balance, and they both hit the ground again, Naruto hitting him in the jaw; Sasuke’s teeth chattering together in pain. But Sasuke gained control again by jumping at Naruto and shoving him face-first at the ground, climbing onto him and holding him down as he struggled to fight. 

But not even a few minutes down, and Naruto began to shake. His nose was pressed against the ground,  _ and the smell of the dirt was cloying; his senses were overwhelmed by terror as he recalled the scent of the small room, the way the ground surrounded him, sprinkling him occasionally with dirt from the poorly-built roof, the way he found his body grow tingly in sleep as he was too injured to move, and how the man would return too soon, and his wounds (they would always heal a bit too quickly for some reason) would reopen and bleed again, all over the floor, and sometimes, he’d feel a flicker of something powerful surge through him, and for a moment he’d feel nothing but numbness, but other moments it would do nothing, and he’d just feel a white-hot surge of pain, and he would scream, and- _

“Uchiha Sasuke, get off of him!”

And suddenly he was being turned over, and his arms and legs were waving in a scramble to break free of the hands holding onto his shoulders-

“-Ruto! Look at me, breathe!” Iruka-sensei shook him, and the other children were being sent inside, but all he could do was gasp, somehow there wasn’t enough air for his lungs,  _ because the room was so deep in the ground, there was no fresh air, it was heavy and warm, and every rattle of his lungs reminded him of the pain of his wounds; this time there was a deep one in his thigh, and the knife had gone through the muscles like butter, and the blood was coming out slower now. He watched through the crack in his shut eyelid with curiosity as something orange came up with the blood, and seemed to cover the entire wound before seeping back in, and with it, the blood clotted and the skin seemed to grow back a bit more, but he was distracted by the  _ thud thud  _ of shoes coming close to the door, but all he could do was wait in agony- _

“Naruto! It’s alright, just focus on me, snap out of it, take deep breaths.”

And then suddenly he was back in Konoha, and Iruka-sensei was holding him as he looked upwards, but Iruka let go as he began to even his breathing out. But the calm breaths soon became coughs as he rolled over to his side, and the coughs became choked sobs as once again he had gone back to that awful place, and it swarmed in his vision; spilled ink that poured over everything.

“N-No more, please... I can’t take any more... please...” he whimpered, but all he could feel was a sharp phantom pain as his blood trailed down his body, and he shook with sobs, and Iruka watched the boy break down again.

* * *

 

“Hello Naruto. It’s nice to see you again.”

Naruto sat in a quite large office, unlike what he had expected. The room itself was a light green, pale and pastel. There was a lone window, with blue curtains that were drawn shut, and a small desk in the corner with neat stacks of files and papers. There was a cushioned chair near a small bookshelf to the right, and across from it was a large, very comfortable couch.

Naruto was seated on the couch stiffly, his hands curled together in his lap. And in the chair was Inoichi Yamanaka, who looked at him kindly. But that didn’t change anything; he knew why he was here. After what happened on Wednesday, he’d been picked up by the Third on Thursday morning, told he wasn’t going to school today, and was led to the Hokage Tower instead.

_ “Naruto, you can’t keep this bottled up. I didn’t want to force you to see someone, but I think it would help you greatly, even if you don’t. Please, just trust me this once.” _

“So, how have you been doing? How is it at the Academy?” Inoichi asked him.

“....Fine.” he replied quietly.

“Have you been having any problems with schoolwork? I know that there’s a lot of clans to remember in the First Shinobi World War.”

“.....It’s fine.”

* * *

**5 Months After Capture**

“Do you talk with your friends in class very often? I used to pass notes to Hyuuga Hiashi in my day. The man may look very scary, but he secretly loves a good joke now and then.”

Naruto was silent for a while, and when he finally spoke, it was a whisper.

“.....I don’t have friends.”

Inoichi was about to say something, but Naruto now seemed to want to speak.

“...They don’t want to be my friend because I’m weird. A troublemaker. I hear them whisper behind my back sometimes, about how I have no family, how I never talk to anyone. They don’t want to be around me.”

He couldn’t stop himself now, he had to tell someone.

“I hear people in the village mutter things under their breath, how I’m dangerous,  _ too _ quiet; a monster who’s going to snap one day. They tug their children away from me, and I’m the only one in the park again.”

“But it’s even worse when they won’t even look at me. Like I’m trash.”

And Inoichi couldn’t think of anything to say to that.

After all, you can’t really tell a child that he’s thought of by many, civilians and ninja alike, as the reincarnation of a terrifying demon fox that killed thousands of people.

* * *

 

**6 Months After Capture**

“I want you to start talking about what happened to you when you were taken in our meetings. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but I want you to tell me a little part of it. You need to let out these memories, and the emotions that come with them.”

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

“..... _ He _ liked my eyes. He said they were like the sky.... hopeful, innocent. But I guess they aren’t anymore, huh?”

* * *

 

**7 Months After Capture**

“...The room was small, and it was dark. The walls seemed to surround me all the time, and there were bugs sometimes, just scuttling across the floor. Occasionally they’d climb on me as well, and I would be too tired to swat them away. I was always too tired to move. It hurt to move, because then the places he’d cut would start to bleed and sting again...”

“The bugs, they were normal bugs, right? None that made you feel weaker or chewed at you?” Inoichi said, checking for foul play. He knew the Hokage was suspicious of how easily the entire situation was fixed, and had been asked by Sarutobi to make sure  _ every _ possible route had been checked. Even inside jobs.

“No, they just walked around. I think?”

 Inoichi crossed the thought off in his notebook.

* * *

 

**9 Months After Capture**

“One time, the lightbulb in my room broke. It was dark, so dark I couldn’t see myself, and all I could do was wait in the dark, and everything seemed to be falling in on me and I couldn’t breathe, and the air was heavier every time I took a breath, and no one came to turn on the light...”

“Does that make you uncomfortable when you're put into situations where it's hard to control your breathing? Or in the dark?” the Yamanaka asked him.

Naruto shrugged. “I don't know. I sleep with the lights on though. But I don't have problems with breathing, I think.”

Inoichi nodded, scribbling something down on in his notebook. “We'll look into it later then.”

* * *

 

**1 Year After Capture**

“Once in awhile, I would see this orange glow by where I was injured, and they would heal a little. And sometimes, I didn’t even feel any pain at all. But later it would all come back, even worse. And sometimes, when I fell asleep, I heard a growling noise in my dreams, like an animal almost...”

Inoichi didn't say anything to this immediately, instead writing a note that he'd talk to the Third about later.

_ Maybe it's time for Naruto to know about the fox. He's aware of something unusual, it's better he hears about it now than later, from an enemy.  _

“Did the glow ever make you feel angry or scared? Did it hurt you or was it just healing your wounds?” Inoichi questioned.

“I don't think it hurt. No more than my injuries hurt. And I wasn't scared. It was almost... pretty. Or magical. And the growl would sound more like just a rumbling when I couldn't sleep. It was calming, just a bit, I guess. Do you know about it, Yamanaka-san?”

* * *

 

**2 Years After Capture**

“No way Mizuki! All the others created two clones, and Naruto only created one clone, and it was a useless one at that. I can’t let him pass.”

**.**

**.**

“Naruto! Whatever happens, don’t give him the scroll!” Iruka shouted, and Naruto was confused, glancing at Mizuki, who grinned. 

“I’ll tell you the truth, Naruto. 12 years ago, you know about the demon fox being sealed, right? Well, since that day, a special rule has been passed, one that you were never meant to know.”

**.**

**.**

 “Congratulations. You passed!”

* * *

 

“Naruto, do you have any thoughts about what happened last Friday? Your graduation, from what I heard, wasn't quite normal.”

Naruto shifted a bit in his seat. 

“I just.... I don't understand. Why me? Why was it me?”

Inoichi nodded. “A fair question. From what I heard of the Kyuubi attack and the aftermath, you were chosen because the sealing of a jinchuuriki needs someone quite young, so that their chakra coils will adapt to the demonic chakra and not kill them. An adult with fully developed coils wouldn’t be able to handle it. You were born October 10th, an innocent newborn baby. You could take that power and grow with it.”

Naruto didn’t look satisfied. “But why did nobody say anything about the fox to me before? Would they have ever told me?”

Yamanaka Inoichi frowned. “I can't say. I don't think that anyone would have kept it hidden forever, but look at it this way. When should you have been told? When you were 5? 10? Maybe 14? What age would you have wanted to know?”

Naruto looked down. “I don't know, I guess. Knowing about the Kyuubi now, it feels like a weight has been lifted, because now I know _why_ people don't like me. It’s unfair that I should go through my life and suffer for the acts of a monster from years ago, and its.... unsettling to know that there's a demon within me. What does that make me? Powerful for holding it in, or stupid for not knowing? Will it make me evil?"  

His therapist shook his head. “Naruto, I may not be a master of fuuinjutsu, but I know  without a doubt that the Forth Hokage was. He would never have let a baby even hold the possibility of being tainted by the likes of the Kyuubi. So don't worry about that.”

The man then smiled. “We are always welcome to come back to this subject, but I think that, no matter how old you might have been, 5 or 50, you'd have been able to handle the knowledge the same way. As maturely as you have today.”

* * *

 

That night, he dreamed.

_ He was in the room again, it’s dark walls surrounding him, the  _ thump thump _ of feet as they came down once more, and he struggled to move, to get up, but he was almost paralyzed, and then the door swung open, and the man came through, his dark hair down by his face again, framing his dark eyes- wait. His eyes weren’t dark, they were red! With the pupils slitted, they seemed to glow with malice- _

**_“Hello there, brat. Ready for today?"_**  

_ And then he was bleeding, blood pouring from his wounds, and the orange glow followed, but it was stronger, and it flowed out of the wounds, turning red as the blood as it wrapped around him and held tight, and it burned white-hot, like he was on fire, and he writhed and screamed, finally moving but he was chained to the wall still, and he could only struggle as his surroundings sunk around him to wrap him in darkness as the fire burned, and the man seemed to grow bigger, before he became a giant red monster with tails whipping around, and its mouth opened wide and swallowed him whole..... _

* * *

 

He sat in the room with the other kids, dark circles under bloodshot eyes; he was waiting for his team to be announced. Naruto reflected on his graduation with wariness. He knew now why his classmates glared at him, why they hated him so much. Because their parents did the same thing.

Iruka was speaking at the front.

“...Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Team 8....”

His head snapped to look at the dark haired Uchiha near his seat. 

_ Him. _

As his new teammates waited with him in the classroom for their sensei, even as everyone else left with their Jounin sensei, Naruto scowled. 

_ Out of all the people, why did it have to be him? _

Finally, hours later, a silver haired man walked into the room, his face covered by a mask and his hitai-ate covered his left eye,  _ probably because of it being gone _ , Naruto thought.

The man looked all of them over, his lone eye sharp, seemingly focusing on each of them individually. It lingered on Naruto, and the blond felt it almost see into his soul, before the eye closed and his eyebrow furrowed.

“Well, my first impression of you is.... You're brats.”

**_“...brat.”_ **

For only a moment, Naruto hears the word coming from another, before bringing him back to his nightmare, but it's gone quickly as he reminds himself to stay in the present.

Hatake Kakashi, on the other hand, doesn't miss the dark look that flashes through those blue eyes in only an instant.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I've had a hectic week. You know that feeling when you decide on Tuesday to clean up your house suddenly because you're getting two pet bunnies, and you run around nonstop Wednesday making sure everything is perfect and then pick them up and go to the vet and then by the time you get home you just sleep, and pretty much do the same on Thursday? That was my week. :-(

The kids can't work with each other to save their lives. The pink haired girl is constantly fawning over the Uchiha, who works alone, blatantly ignoring his new teammates to attack Kakashi one-on-one. And the blond, although trying to attack, seemed hesitant to get too close to Kakashi, and doesn't seem to like when Kakashi gets too close to him.

_ Could he be afraid of me?  _

But when they share their lunches in the end, Kakashi has to pass them, because he has hope in them, in a team that will grow to work together.

* * *

 

“Naruto? Can I speak to you?”

It's the end of their second day of training, and Kakashi had been watching the boy as the team sparred and practiced shinobi formations. He noticed that the kid was quiet, and not only did he not look too much at Kakashi, he disliked Sasuke as well. 

When the other two Genin have left, he turns to the blond. The boy is staring at his feet, not looking at Kakashi at all.

“Can I ask you why you're so afraid to look at me?” He says with an eye smile. Naruto frowns.

“You're just.... very strong. And you've got sharp eyes. Eye. I can't....”

His sentence trails off, and Kakashi knows that he's not saying something. But he puts on a friendly face, because he knows that this will be an issue that won't vanish overnight.

“Well, many Jounin are strong shinobi. I don't mean to scare you unless we're in a fight. Is there any way I can make you a bit more comfortable, my cute little Genin?”

Naruto looks at him, and for a moment, he seemed to be about to say something, but then halts and freezes as he stares right at his eye. Those blue eyes seem to fade for a moment, going distant, and Kakashi knows exactly what's happening, because he did it too, after Obito died.

The boy is not all there, seeing something, a memory, a thought, but he doesn't see Kakashi in that moment.

But the minute he does, he's stumbling back away from him with terror on his face.

“No! Just.... Leave me alone.” He says panicked, and looks away.

But if Kakashi is one thing, it’s stubborn.

“You have flashbacks often. Memories of something that happened once, right?”

Naruto is suddenly looking at him again, not quite meeting his eye but still looking in his direction. 

“What are you talking about?” Naruto asks. Kakashi smiles.

“Nevermind. It’s something we can discuss another day. For now, I think it's time for you to go home before it gets dark!”

It may not mean much, but Kakashi is certain that at the very least, he's alerted Naruto to his knowledge of why he feels uncomfortable around him. 

And that's a start.

* * *

“Tell me about your Genin team, Naruto. Do you like it? Are you learning new skills?” Inoichi asks him one day soon after graduation.

Naruto frowns. “I’m stuck with Sasuke-teme and Sakura, who always runs after him and she's mean to me. And Kakashi-sensei..... he makes me uncomfortable."   


Inoichi seems to straighten in his chair for a moment, thinking.

“Well, how is Sakura mean to you?”

Naruto pouts with crossed arms. “She always cheers for Sasuke-teme in fights, and shoves me away, and never wants to eat lunch with me! She says I’m annoying! And her punches make my head hurt.”

Inoichi nods. “It sounds like Sakura may not like being around you, but that is no reason to act like this towards you. HItting and yelling at each other will hurt your team, and make it difficult to work together when the time comes. Have you talked to your sensei about this problem?”

The blond quickly shook his head. “I don’t like talking to Kakashi-sensei...”

“Is there a reason you don’t like being around Kakashi as well?”

Naruto looked down at his feet. He knew the subject would come up, but it still bother him to discuss it. 

“Sensei.... He scares me a bit. He’s very strong, and he was scary in our fight. I tried to stay away from him as much as I could, but he would just come closer!”

Inoichi frowned. “Well, many Jounin sensei are quite powerful. It’s why not every Jounin is given the job, because they have to be strong enough to protect not only the mission, but their Genin team as well. It’s a difficult job given to only experienced ninja. Is that the only reason though, Naruto?”

Naruto seemed to shake his head slightly. “N-No, that’s not it. Kakashi-sensei.... his eye. His eye scares me more. It’s sharp, and he’ll watch me with it; I can feel when it’s on me.”

 The boy was quiet for a moment, but Inoichi didn’t push him to speak.

“It reminds me of....  _ him _ .”

Naruto hadn’t talked much about his captor compared to his descriptions of the room and his feelings about his kidnapping. Inoichi hadn’t wanted to push him to divulge anything he wasn’t comfortable with, since he was still talking about it, in pieces that overlapped each other and created a bigger picture of Naruto’s recovery as well as his damage. But talking about the man who took him would definitely help him, so Inoichi prodded a bit.

“Kakashi’s eye? In what way?”

The blond shivered a bit, and his arms moved to wrap around himself.

“It’s like.... when he’d look at me, with his eyes.... They were so cold. But I couldn’t run from him, I was too weak! And he’d look at me every time he came in, and I wanted to close my eyes but I couldn’t.... they made me so angry, that they would shine along with his smile when I screamed..... and then.... one day, I had a piece of the floor that I’d broken off, and when he got close to me, I... I hit him in that eye! And he was so shocked, h-he was looking at me, but I didn’t stop, I pushed it into his eye, and I made him bleed.... So much more than I ever did... And then I pulled it out, and..... I killed him. I _killed_ him."  

Naruto gasped a little, and shook a bit after finishing his confession, before going very, very still. But then, for a moment, Inoichi felt a bit of fear come to him as Naruto looked up with slitted red eyes.

“ _ But I made him  _ **_bleed_ ** _. I made him  _ **_pay_ ** _. _ ” he growled out, teeth clenched. And then, like a candle, the red was snuffed out and replaced by blue again.

Naruto was silent for the rest of their session.

* * *

 

Kakashi drills teamwork into their skulls, bit by bit, making them run laps around Konoha with their feet tied together. Admittedly it might not have been the best exercise in teamwork, but it was  _ hilarious _ to watch.

Although flinging kunai at them might have been a bit mean.....

* * *

 

Sasuke is, of course, trained like a true Uchiha, and even without his clan he’s focused his skills in shurikenjutsu and taijutsu to tip-top shape, and his talent with Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu is impressive. He’s built for full-frontal attacks.  Sakura is a bit weaker in her ninjutsu skills, only knowing the basic Academy jutsus, and her taijustu is poor and slow. She’s better fit as support, if he can train her with some genjutsu or teach her some tricks with kunai or senbon to help her out.  Naruto, on the other hand, is an anomaly. He’s strong, and has a wild taijustu style, and with his huge chakra reserves and the Kage Bunshin, he’d be great as a fighter, but he seems to prefer lingering back instead.    
  
His team would work best with two close-combat players and a supportive ninja hiding in the background, but he might have to settle for a close up fighter, a long range supporter, and a mid range backup.

Kakashi sighed.  _ I’ll have to push Naruto out of his shell more if this team balance is going to work... _

* * *

 

After quite a few weeks, Team 7 had grown fed up with the simple D-Rank missions, and Uchiha Sasuke asked the Hokage in a stiff, formal voice for something else.

Sarutobi looked at each member of Team 7, pausing for an extra minute as he looked at Naruto, who looked at him with a small smile. Sarutobi then glanced at Kakashi, who nodded ever so slightly in agreement.

“Very well. We do have a C-Rank mission available right now, if you really think you’re ready for it.”

* * *

 

Naruto hefted his backpack up a bit as the group walked down the path and away from the village. Despite his anxiousness, the excitement of leaving the village almost balanced it out. Beside him, in their triangular formation, was Sakura on the opposite side and Sasuke in front, with Kakashi-sensei watching from the back.

The man they were currently guarding was named Tazuna, a bridge builder who needed an escort back to his home country, Nami no Kuni. Tazuna was a drunk, quite rude, and seemed to think that their team was useless.

It wasn’t until they were farther away from Konoha that they began to chat about different things. 

“Sasuke-kun, are you excited to get to Nami no Kuni? Have you ever left Konoha before?” Sakura asked, her eyes wide and sparkling. Sasuke huffed.

“Tch. Don’t bother me.”

Naruto, on the other hand, was quietly thinking about his last meeting with Inoichi. He’d had a lingering fear in the back of his mind about his sensei, but speaking had brought it out in full clarity for him. He disliked Kakashi-sensei -  not because of his personality, but because of his eye, that eye that reminded him so much of  _ that man _ .

The eye he stabbed.

“-Naruto! Answer me!” Sakura screeched at him, and he looked in her direction.

“Sorry? I didn’t hear you Sakura.” Naruto said, frowning. Sakura stomped over to him, angrily.

“I asked you if you were paying attention! Focus on our mission!”

She reached her hand out, as if to smack him in the head, but a gloved hand grabbed hers first. Naruto looked at Kakashi with surprise as the Jounin smiled at both of them.

“Mah, mah, don’t fight with each other on a mission. If you knock Naruto out Sakura, you’ll have to carry him all the way to Nami no Kuni!”

Sakura nodded at her sensei, and ran back to her spot after he let go of her hand. Kakashi turned to Naruto.

“How are you doing, Naruto?” he asked. Naruto looked at him, and gave a weak smile.

“I’m f-fine, Kakashi-sensei. Are we getting close to Nami no Kuni?”

The silver haired man seemed to grin a bit wider under his mask.    
  
“We are about halfway to our destination. Sakura is right in that you should stay focused! Look out for any enemies at all times and be ready to fight.” he replied.

It was at that moment that, with a sudden  _ swish _ , a long, dark chain wrapped around their sensei and ripped him into bloody pieces.


	6. Chapter 6

_ “Ready for more, brat? I’m quite excited for today. Got some new ideas. Won’t this be fun?” _

_ It had been so long, and he wanted the pain to stop, to be over, he couldn’t continue with this cycle of blood and waiting; his throat growing raw from his screams- _

_ And he had been slowly chipping at the small crack in the concrete floor; the piece finally coming loose, and he grasped it tightly. It was sharp, hurting the sides of his palm, but he wouldn’t let go, clenched to it like a lifeline, as the man stepped closer to him. He wouldn’t let him hurt him today, he wouldn’t- _

_ It came to him then, a rush of power, of energy, a heavy, dark presence in his mind that urged him forward, and he looked at the man as he knelt down to speak with him, to start carving through his skin- _

_ “No more.” he said, and the man smiled at him, a wicked smirk. _

_ “You don’t tell me what to do, child. This ends when I decide it ends, and that won’t be until I get bored of you. But I do like you; I like that face you make when I come in, because you know it’s time-” _

_ “ _ **_NO MORE.”_ ** _ he said again, but this time, it was louder, stronger, almost feral- _

_ As his captor slammed him against the wall by his neck, he found himself grinning sharply, with pure malice. _

_ “ _ **_I’m bored of you._ ** _ ” he whispered then, and his arm swung up, the concrete directed at his face, sharp edge out, and hitting the centre of his eye with a  _ squelch _ - _

_ The blood seemed to rushed out everywhere, and for once, it wasn’t his own, as it poured from the wound down the man’s face as he cried out in agony, but Naruto wasn’t done, he wanted this man to understand his suffering- _

_ -and he stabbed him, again and again and  _ again _ - _

_ And there was blood smeared across the floor and pooling under the body as the life drained out of the man’s remaining eye.... _

* * *

 

Sasuke was moving immediately, attacking the two ninja with a ferocity as he disabled their chain in an instant and began to fight. Sakura moved to protect Tazuna, and Naruto?

Naruto was frozen; the blood from Kakashi’s body went everywhere, like an explosion of red, and he was shaking, his knees buckling as he watched the blood spread-

And he couldn’t move as one of the ninja went to slice through him, but was saved by Sasuke, the  _ real _ ninja, who jumped onto the ninja and caused him to miss Naruto’s heart, instead creating a gash in his hand with a burst of blood-

And then suddenly Kakashi-sensei was alive, and the ninja were knocked out, and his-  _ alive alive alive _ -sensei was kneeling next to him on the ground, studying the wound on his hand with worry.

Naruto took a good look at the wound; the skin was palling and purple lines were stretching up through his veins: poison. There was blood running down between his fingers, steadily dripping down towards the ground. Kakashi was saying something about going back to the village for treatment but Naruto didn’t hear him as he shakily pulled out a kunai from his own pouch and stabbed it through his hand, right into the wound.

His brain was alert again with the flash of pain, crying out  _ danger! _ , but it was nothing to him anymore; like a mere scratch compared to the agony he’d felt before. Watching as even more blood rushed out of his hand, he felt a rush of that power-  _ Kyuubi? _ \-  flow towards the damaged area, and it pushed any remaining poison and once again clotted the blood before regenerating the destroyed skin. His sensei looked at the wound once more in concern, but did a double-take at the sight of blood no longer flowing out of it. He touched it with his hand gently, but it was good as new already.

“It’s okay sensei,” he whispered, just loud enough for the older jounin to hear. “It wasn’t that painful at all.”

Kakashi looked at him, with almost sadness.  _ Why is it nothing for him to do such a thing, not even a moment’s hesitation? _

“Alright Naruto, but next time, don’t act so rashly, okay?”

The blond nodded easily, but his body still shook.

* * *

 

They had almost made it to Nami no Kuni when they were attacked once more. But this time, it wasn’t Chuunin.

Momochi Zabuza, or better known in the Bingo Book as The Demon of the Mist and a former member of the Seven Swordsmen, comes at them with no mercy, swinging the famed kubikiribocho at their heads, and begins to duel Kakashi. It isn’t until halfway into their fight that the man begins making hand signs. Within seconds, there’s a thick mist covering the entire battlefield.

But what’s even more terrifying is the way the man lists body parts and tells them that their own deaths are imminent. He hears Kakashi mention that Zabuza is a former assassin of the Hidden Mist, and is trained in the art of silent killing, and for a moment, Naruto is brought back to that day again, when he watched the blood pour out of the slashed throat of that  _ man _ , and he begins to shake once more, ever so slightly.  _ Is he meant to die the same way?  _

But Kakashi is unyielding until the end, revealing a bright red eye under his hitai-ate (called a Sharingan?) and nearly beats Zabuza, until he's trapped in the Suirō no Jutsu, and telling them to save Tazuna, but in that moment, Naruto looks right at him, and his two eyes aren't scary anymore, not like they were.

And if he leaves his sensei now, he's almost certain that the man will die, so he devises a plan, turning to Sasuke and Sakura for help. He does a quick hand seal, and Kage Bushin appear in a puff of smoke.

It's not until he's in mid air and he's tricked Zabuza into freeing Kakashi- his sensei stopping the former Swordsman from killing him- that Naruto can look right at his teacher without fear.

* * *

 

They survive their fight, with Zabuza being taken by a hunter-nin, and rest at Tazuna’s house. Their sensei had been asleep for the last two days and continued to rest, his Sharingan having caused chakra exhaustion. Naruto was sitting in the room they’ve been loaned, just thinking. His teammates and him had wandered around Nami no Kuni the first day, after meeting Tazuna’s daughter Tsunami and her son, Inari. The second day they rested a bit more, and watched Kakashi for signs of consciousness.

But it was the third day now, and he was the only one waiting as the others went with Tazuna. Sakura had practically ordered him to stay behind, ( with a final sentence of “Sasuke-kun and I need alone time!” ) so Naruto took the time to reflect a bit.

“Why is it that Kakashi-sensei isn’t as scary as before? What changed?” he said quietly to himself.

In the back of his mind, a little voice whispered the answer he was avoiding.

_ It’s because you trust him. And he saved your life. Why wouldn’t you? _

Naruto frowned. He didn’t feel like he trusted him. But what did it feel like to trust people? He always looked to the Third and Iruka for help, but that was different. 

_ Is it? _

Naruto groaned. “Why does this have to be so hard?! Why do I have to be so messed up?!” he shouted, and jumped off the floor angrily. For once in a long time, he was angry at himself, at how he was held back so much by such a simple thing; fearing the feeling of hopelessness and despair that had swallowed him whole once before, and was always creeping towards him, in every fight, in every ninja that looked at him, in the voice that haunted his memories-

“Naruto...?” a hoarse voice called out from nearby. The blond’s head whipped around to look at Kakashi, who had his right eye open to stare at him. His other eye, the red one, was shut tight. 

“Sensei! You’ve been asleep for two days. We made it to Nami no Kuni.” Naruto said, smiling slightly but still speaking softly. Kakashi nodded slowly.

“Sasuke and Sakura...?” he rasped.    
  
“Watching over Tazuna and the bridge. Sakura told me to stay behind so she could have alone time with Sasuke-teme....” the boy grumbled.

“And you...?” the Jounin asked. Naruto blinked.   
  
“I’m fine sensei-” he said, but Kakashi shook his head.

“I heard you shout.” the man said bluntly. “Are you  alright , Naruto?”

Naruto scowled now, “I said I’m fine, Kakashi-sensei.”

The subject was dropped, as the room seemed to grow chilly. Finally, Kakashi smiled.

“Well then, I guess you kids should get some training in then!”

* * *

 

Kakashi, on his feet again the next morning, begins to train them in tree-walking. Sakura goes straight up effortlessly, leaving Naruto and Sasuke in the dust. Naruto runs to join her, but as soon as his feet hit the bark he makes it a few feet before falling back down. Sasuke attempts the same, but he’s launched away in a small explosion of sap and wood. 

Their sensei doesn’t give any other clues on how it works, so they are left to spend the day climbing trees over and over. Naruto finally asks Sakura for some help, but nothing he does seems to work very well, and the next morning leaves him and Sasuke climbing again and again and  _ again. _

It becomes a competition to the top (to becoming  _ stronger _ ), which turns into an eating contest at dinner. Tsunami is quite indulgent of their speedy appetites, and everything goes well until Sakura asks about the torn photograph on the wall.

This leads Inari to leaving the table as Tazuna explains about the hero of Nami no Kuni, who saved them, who was family to Inari, and who was brutally executed by Gato. Since then, the people had lost hope, and Inari had grown bitter.

Naruto is angry though, because Inari seems to think he’s suffered the most out of everyone in the world, that no one has gone through horrible things besides him. He’s angry because he spent his childhood ignored and alone, and then tortured for days before being rescued.

He’s angry because it’s not  _ fair _ .

Isn’t that the reason he always gets back to when it comes to his anger? Not towards his captor, but towards himself, and his life, and how  _ unfair _ it is that he suffered so much, and he doesn’t understand  _ why _ . Is it all really because of some demon living in him, or does that not even mean anything? Is the universe just against him?!

Sometimes he’d like to smash and burn and destroy everything in sight, but he knows, it won’t help him. Knows that no matter what, he’ll always have those memories lingering in his mind, holding onto him with their terrifying grip, and they’ll haunt him forever, until he’s dead.

So he settles on excusing himself from the table, ignoring the glances Sasuke and Sakura give him, or the way Kakashi follows him as he storms out of the house and into the woods. 

He might as well train.

* * *

 

_ He’s wandering down a long hallway, and it drips from the ceiling, adding to the water below him that he’s sloshing through as he goes deeper, heading towards the small light ( because at least it’s better than the darkness on the other end ) and slowly finds himself at a cage. _

_ It’s tall, far higher than Naruto will ever grow, and the bars are thick and evenly spaced, with a small piece of paper on one of them. It’s just close enough that he could reach it if he really wanted to, but he doesn’t, more curious with what is  _ within _ the cage. _

_ “Hello?” he calls out, not really expecting a response, but there’s a low growl that seems to echo through the room. Two ruby red eyes look at him almost hungrily. _

_ Slowly, a shape seems to emerge from behind the bars. It’s towering, but all Naruto notices is it’s sharp teeth as it lunges at him, and he backs away quickly. The bars look like the only thing between the two of them. _

**_“Scared, child?”_ ** _ the creature laughs.  _ **_“I don’t understand why, though. Monsters like us need to stick together, right?”_ **

_ It’s only then that he notices that the water he’d been wading through has turned to blood, and suddenly it’s rising higher, pouring into the room until it covers him completely, and he’s drowning, mouth open in a scream; the acrid taste of blood makes him choke and gag, but he’s too far down, and above him the Kyuubi gives out a roar of laughter. _

* * *

 

Naruto wakes up gasping hours later underneath the tree he was practicing on with a pretty girl looking at him kindly.

Of course, to wake up with someone above him makes him jolt, panic surging in his chest as he hurriedly scoots back from the girl and scans his surrounding, heart pounding.

“Are you quite alright?” she asks, but he’s too busy trying not to hurl at the memory of the blood swamping his senses, making him nauseous. 

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay. Just a bad dream.” he finally tells her, and she smiles.

“The mind replays what the heart cannot delete.” she says, and the simple sentence is so unexpectedly wise that Naruto has no reply.

“Now, I must excuse myself. I’m out here running an errand, and must hurry.” the dark haired girl adds, and Naruto steadies himself.

“Do you need any help?”

* * *

 

They converse quietly as the girl collects herbs.  _ Medicine _ , she tells him,  _ for a friend of mine _ .

She calls herself Haku, and asks him about what he was doing asleep in the forest.

“I’m training! I’m a ninja!” Naruto tells her. She smiles.

“Really? That’s amazing! But why are you training?”

This is when he grins and jumps up. “I’m training to be stronger! The most powerful ninja there is! The Hokage! And then, everyone will acknowledge me!”

As the words tumble out, he turns them over in his head. How  _ long _ has it been, since he uttered those same words with such conviction? He can’t remember. Not since he was younger, and just starting to train at the Academy. 

_ Not since before I was taken _ , he wants to say. But being here in the forest, at ease with Haku and nature, and he feels calmer than usual. Not angry or sad, despite the way he woke up. 

“Do you want to be Hokage for yourself or for someone else?” Haku asks him, and she seems to really want to know his answer, but he doesn’t understand. She giggles at his confused face.

“Do you have someone who is important to you?”

Does he? Does he protect someone? All he’s ever thought about for so long is protecting himself, from the world, from being hurt again-

But does he protect anyone  _ else _ ?

Haku smiles. “When a person has someone important to protect, that is when they truly become strong. Because there is strength in protecting others.”

“I understand.” he says softly. 

“Then you will become strong.” she tells him, and he smiles as well. 

It’s only as she’s walking away, basket full of leafy plants, that she turns her head around to face him.

“By the way, I’m a boy.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early because I didn't want to forget. And a bit longer than I would have liked, but I couldn't find a nice spot to cut it off at. With any luck, I'll be able to boost more of my chapters to this size! :-)

It's only later that same day, after Sasuke and him show off their tree climbing skills, that they all settle in for dinner. Naruto is quite happy, having completed his training goal as well as made a new friend in the kind boy from the forest.

Inari seems to be upset tonight though, and as tears pour down his face, he begins to shout.

"Why do you all train so hard when you will all be killed in a matter of days?! No matter how hard you work, the weak will always lose when fighting the strong!"

Naruto scowls. "Whatever. I'm not getting killed anytime soon, kid."

"You're a fool! I'd hate to be like you! What do you know about anything!? You're always so cheerful, you've never had a hard life!"

This is the last straw for him, and all the anger of yesterday comes back to Naruto in an instant-

"You're the only fool if you think that no one has ever suffered through tragedy like you," he speaks, his voice a low growl.

"I've suffered every day of my life, but I don't spend my days like you, pushing down others with hope! So just cry for the rest of your life, you little sissy!"

He storms out of the room, this time going upstairs to his bed. He can't deal with this child today. _That stupid crybaby runt._

* * *

He wakes up the next morning to find the house all but empty.

"They left me behind! I slept in!" he cries out, pulling on his ninja gear and rushing out the door, ignoring Tsunami's reply of him needing rest.

But when he sees the boar sliced to pieces he immediately goes back towards the house, and emerges in time to save Inari and Tsunami from Gato's bodyguards, who aren't nearly as well trained as ninja.

Inari looks up at him, sniffling a bit.

"You came to the rescue." the child says, and Naruto grins.

"Yeah, I came to help, and just in time. But you did a good job! I'm sorry I called you a sissy!"

He ruffles the kid's hair. "You're strong!"

The kid's face lights up as tears pour from his eyes.

* * *

Naruto arrives at the bridge to a full-out battle between Zabuza and his sensei, with Sasuke fighting the hunter ninja from earlier. He doesn't look too good, and there's strange mirrors everywhere around him, but in an instant he's inside the mirrors and by Sasuke's side.

"I came to save you!" he shouts, and instantly Sasuke is... _not_ happy?!

"You idiot! Why did you come inside the mirrors?! Do you even understand strategy?! I don't care! You're a moron!"

"This is the thanks I get for saving you, bastard!?"

Sasuke groans in frustration, before the hunter ninja returns to the inside of the mirrors.

Flashing hand signs, Sasuke raises his fingers to his lips.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" he calls out, and a sea of flames cover the ice mirrors for a few seconds before the fireball dies out, leaving everything just as it was.

"It didn't do a thing!" Naruto cries out in confusion, and Sasuke is trying to create a plan, but-

"You cannot melt ice of this level with fire jutsu," the hunter nin says, and then the enemy is in every mirror throwing out senbon, and they're coming at a speed that's too difficult to dodge. Within seconds, both boys are feeling the effects.

"You will never be able to catch me. Your eyes cannot follow me quickly enough." the ninja says, and Naruto growls. _Best way to catch someone going fast is outnumbering them!_

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cries, and his army of clones jumps with him to each mirror, ready to smash it, but the hunter nin vanishes, and with a sudden _poof_ , his Bunshin are destroyed by senbon once again.

Naruto collapses next to Sasuke, exhausted. "Damm it!"

He is ready to pass out. The senbon were thrown with precision, but just the sheer number of hits has wiped him out. _I'm not strong enough..._

"No. I won't lose here. I have a dream to fulfill!" he shouts, and pushes himself back up.

"If possible, I didn't want to kill you." their enemy says with a soft voice. "But if you come at me, I can destroy my kind heart with a blade and become a true shinobi. This bridge will be where we fight to defend our dreams. Mine, or yours. I will protect my precious person, so their dreams will come true. "

He looks right at them, and you can sense the malice. "For that, I can kill you."

* * *

From outside the mirrors, there's a scream from Sakura, but all Sasuke can focus on is this ninja, who's knocked Naruto down already and is pushing Sasuke to that point. But he won't give up. He's slowly understanding the movements of his opponent.

_Just a little bit, but... I can see!_

But then the ninja is suddenly racing out from the mirror towards Naruto, and all Sasuke can think of in that moment is-

_Save Naruto._

He feels the senbon as they hit, landing everywhere on his body, but he doesn't mind, because he saved someone else.

Naruto is suddenly awake again, looking at him with complete confusion and despair.

"Don't make such a face, moron." he tells the idiot blond.

"But why did you do this?! I didn't ask for your help!" Naruto shouts at him, and he's not completely sure what drove him to do this. Maybe it was the way Naruto seemed to struggle, to need help, and he could remember when he wanted for comfort, for someone to save him, when he woke up some nights in his house screaming, or when he came home smiling only to remember no one was there...

And in that moment he knew that he wouldn't leave him to die.

"I don't know... My body moved on it's own..."

* * *

He found himself thinking back on his dream, on those ruby red eyes as they looked at him with malice.

" _ **Monsters like us need to stick together, right?"**_

" **Right.** " he snarled, as he placed Sasuke's body down before him, his heart twisting in pain. His mind seemed almost disconnected from his body, and he felt a rush of evil, powerful chakra fuel him, it's dark taint wrapping around him, heavy and warm. He found himself so much more angry, more bloodthirsty.

_I'll_ _**kill** _ _you!_

He turned towards the hunter ninja, and saw them as they backed up a little, and grinned.

The ninja began to throw senbon again, but he didn't care, he roared out, and the senbon were pushed away by his chakra in an instant. The hunter seemed to speed up again, but it was nothing to him; he was stronger, faster, _deadlier_.

Feeling his power growing even more, he slashed out at the ninja, grabbing their wrist as he forced the chakra out of his body, and there was too much-

The mirrors around them began melting, the ice hissing from steam, and they were only barely held up, but that wasn't too much of a worry, as Naruto pulled his fist back, and swung it into his enemy without holding back, launching them through a mirror and shattering it to pieces, the others following it soon after.

A bit farther away, the hunter nin stood up, their mask broken, and he ran, his body faster than ever, holding out his clawed fingers ready to finsh the job-

But then suddenly it was not an enemy, but Haku. Kind, soft spoken Haku, the boy he'd met that day in the woods, and he stopped, frozen before the boy.

_**Finish it, boy! He killed your friend. Avenge his death, and make him pay. Make everyone on this bridge feel your pain, feel your hatred.** _

_No, nonono it's Haku, I can't hurt Haku-_

_**Make them understand your suffering, and how powerful you are, child.** _

_Nhhgg-!_

" _ **H**_ -H _ **a**_ k _ **u**_." he said, voice flickering between normal and feral.

The boy frowned. "Finish this fight, please. Kill me. I killed your precious person, your comrade."

Naruto growled a bit, and his chakra gave a little surge at the words.

"My precious person was Zabuza-san, but I have lost. I'm no longer a weapon strong enough for him. So please, kill me." Haku said, his face blank.

Naruto felt the angry chakra in him surging once more, and fought to keep it down.

_**Let him die, child. Kill him, and then kill this Zabuza for making him into a tool. Use this anger, this pain, use it to suffocate your enemies in their blood!** _

Naruto groaned, dropping to one knee. _He wanted to make others bleed, to watch them as the light drained in their eyes-_

But he didn't, because he'd hated watching the light die in that man's face, and the blood had sickened him, the smell made him gag-

"N-no, Haku. I won't kill you. I c-can't watch you die, I-"

The chakra started to burn in his body, and he pushed it away with all his strength.

_**So weak, you cannot even kill an opponent who wants to die. You claim to want power, but power only comes from those who destroy the weak! You will be destroyed, child. You will bleed out, dying the way you kille-** _

And then the angry voice of the Kyuubi was gone, and the burning chakra drying up, but he nearly fell over again with the drained body he was left with.

Naruto looked up at Haku.

"I'm sorry Haku, but I can't kill another person, I can't watch you die the way _he_ died. I-I'm not strong at all."

Haku nodded his head, almost accepting. "I understand. Death is the hardest part of a shinobi's life. I won't make you-"

Something caught his attention, and the boy was alert.

"I cannot die yet!" He shouted, and vanished in a swish of smoke.

Naruto staggered on his feet as he hurried to follow, moving into the mist to see two figures in battle, one still and one moving.

_That's Kakashi-sensei fighting! Haku's going that way!_

Taking one last glance at the body of his teammate, he bowed his head before following his friend.

As he got closer, he heard the chirping of birds, and then suddenly he was next to Kakashi-sensei, who's hand was through Haku's chest in front of Zabuza. The Swordsman's face was spattered with blood from Haku, but the man didn't seem to care at all.

But all Naruto could do was stare at the blood as it came from Haku's chest, and the eyes of the already dead boy. He began to shake again - _still so weak_ \- as Kakashi pulled his hand out from Haku's body

"Stay there, Naruto." Kakashi said, but it didn't matter, because he couldn't move a muscle.

They began to fight again, but the silver-haired ninja seemed untouchable, dodging sword strikes with ease, before stabbing the missing-nin in the arm, incapacitating both limbs without even a flicker of emotion.

He probably would have decapitated the missing ninja, except for the fact that their battle was interrupted once more, this time by a short man in dark glasses with puffy brown hair; behind him lurked an army of bandits wielding blades and assorted weapons of various sizes.

Zabuza frowned, halting in his attack on Kakashi.

"Gato?" he said coldly. "Why are you here?"

The man smirked.

"I'm going to have you killed here, Zabuza. I never planned on paying you any money."

* * *

Gato walked forwards, towards the body of Haku. He gave it a sharp kick.

"This one, I don't like. Heh, he's dead now though."

Naruto grew upset at this. How dare this puny man defile the dead body of someone so kind, so pure?!

"Hey! You bastard!" he shouted, but was held back by his sensei's hand holding tight to his collar.

"We talked about this, Naruto. Think before you act. Their numbers are far too many." he said, indicating the many thugs behind Gato.

Naruto's head turned sharply towards Zabuza.

"You were friends! Say something! Don't you feel anything?!"

"Shut up, kid. Haku is dead already. I was used by Gato, just as Haku was used by me. I have no regrets." the Swordsman said quietly, not looking at them

Naruto growled, pulling free of his sensei and moving to face the missing-nin.

"He loved you. He truly loved you! Can you really stand there and not feel anything? He threw away his life for you, without a dream of his own, just as a tool-!"

The Demon of the Hidden Mist interupted him.

"Kid... you don't have to say anymore..." he said, as tears trailed down his face. "Let me borrow a kunai..."

Naruto pulled one out of his weapons pouch, tossing it towards Zabuza. His bandages unravled, he gripped the kunai in his sharp teeth, eyes dark and cold. _A true killer._

He rushed at the army without hesitation, plowing through men like it was nothing, before he was right in front of Gato. The grunts near him stabbed their own weapons into his back, joining the many others, but it didn't matter to the shinobi.

Pulling his head forwards, he snapped it back, kunai out-

And Gato's head popped off in a burst of blood; dead.


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura kneeled down next to the body of Uchiha Sasuke, tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping down onto the raven haired boy.

Tazuna looked down at her, hearing her whispered apologies.

"After all that time earning top grades, it's all useless now, isn't it? W-What good does history and shinobi rules do me when facing the death of a teammate? Oh Sasuke-kun!"

She wept above his body, but was startled by a groan beneath her.

"S-Sakura...?"

The kunoichi gasped.

"Sasuke-kun! You're alive!"

The Uchiha in question shifted a bit, noticing the soreness everywhere, and a quick glance showed him senbon in multiple pressure points on his body.

"Ugh... I can't move... Sakura, where's Naruto?"

* * *

The remaining bandits, although acting tough, were scared away by the citizens of Wave (and quite a few Kage Bunshin, as well), leaving Team 7 alone with the dying body of Zabuza Momochi.

"Kakashi..." the man said. "I have a request. I want... to see his face."

Kakashi nodded, and pulled Zabuza into a leaning position on his shoulder, helping him towards the cold body of his apprentice.

Zabuza seemed to look at Haku with almost fondness. His body relaxed, and he seemed to be at peace.

"I'm sorry... Haku..."

* * *

Seeing Sasuke alive made Naruto begin to cry once more.

"S-stupid teme." he muttered, but his face glowed with happiness.

"Next time think...  _before_  you jump into a fight, dobe..." Sasuke replied, out of breath.

"Heh, y-yeah."

Kakashi smiled. "Well, it seems like our mission is done! Pack up your bags, as soon as Sasuke's moving, we'll go."

* * *

Inari and Tazuna looked at the finished bridge with satisfaction.

"I can't believe we finished it. I never thought we'd come to this day." the old man said, wiping down his face. Inari grinned.

"What are you gonna call it? A bridge needs a name!"

Tazuna looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure... something strong, to be remembered. Those kids gave us the bridge of 'hope', of 'courage'... That blond brat especially. "

Inari jumped up.

"I know! The Great Naruto Bridge!"

* * *

Returning to Konoha was a long trip, their added injuries making the travel time extend quite a bit.

Kakashi took this in stride, having them practice team formations and even taught them a bit of his old ANBU code for silent communication (which Naruto thought was super amazing). Still, soon enough they were at the gates of the village.

One of the chuunin at the gate gave them a sharp look.

"Team 7? You guys were supposed to return a week ago!"

Kakashi grinned. "Well, fighting one of the former Seven Swordsman of the Mist will do that to you sometimes." he said calmly, ignoring the look on the spiky haired chuunin's face.

The other one, who had a bandana wrapped around his head and hair covering one eye, sighed.

"Only you, Kakashi. I'll let Hokage-sama know you're on your way, so just move along."

Team 7 walked past the two ninja and into the village. It hadn't changed at all, still as bright and cheerful as it had been when they left. The walk to the Hokage Tower was quick, and within moments they were knocking on the office door of the Third.

"Come on in." the Hokage said, and they opened the door. Kakashi stood at the front and gave an official salute. The genin tried to copy, but it didn't look right.

"Hello Kakashi. I trust you succeeded on your mission, despite the unexpected change in difficulty?"

The jounin nodded.

"No casualties to report, and the bridge was built. Mission complete, sir."

Hiruzen nodded. "Any problems otherwise?" he asked, giving a knowing look.

Kakashi gave a slight incline with his head. The Hokage reached into his drawer and pulled out three envelopes stamped with the letter 'A'.

"Well, Team 7, your mission is officially raised to 'A' rank for it's dangerous and unexpected opposition. To face a Swordsman from the Hidden Mist is no small feat!"

Their sensei smiled. "You guys can have a week off as well, take a break."

The Third handed them each an envelope, and they thanked him before leaving the room. Only Kakashi stayed behind, locking the door behind his genin.

"So, what happened?" Sarutobi asked, pulling his pipe out.

* * *

Naruto walked back towards his apartment after a long day. He'd stopped by the bank to deposit some of yesterday's earnings in his (at the previous suggestion of their sensei) account. According to Kakashi, it was always smart to spread his money around in different spots to keep it safe. Who knows when their house might get burned down from a Katon jutsu gone wrong?

Of course, it was as he was walking down an especially dark alleyway that his sensei decided to appear in a swirl of leaves.  _Behind_  him.

"Yo." the masked man said cheerfully. Naruto yelped and hurriedly spun around to face him.

"H-Hey Kakashi-sensei! What's up?"

His sensei's face grew serious.

"I need to speak with you."

* * *

Naruto, reluctantly, invites his sensei into his cluttered home. Regrettably, there is a mess of laundry collectively strewn across the room, as well as ramen cups stacked so high he thinks they might fall over.

He guides his teacher to his only couch, quickly pulling a few stray articles of clothing off of it. Kakashi either doesn't notice or- scratch that, he definitely noticed, but seemed to be feigning ignorance.

Even though he'd had a breakthrough in Wave, no longer flinching when he looked him in the eye, Naruto still feels on edge, sitting down on the same couch and turning a bit to face his sensei.

"S-So, what do you need to talk about, sensei?" the blond asks him quietly.

Kakashi sighed softly, his face almost blank.

"Naruto, what do you remember from that fight on the bridge in Wave?"

Naruto frowns, his mind pulling back to thoughts he'd been pushing away, of the Kyuubi.

"You want to talk about the Kyuubi, right? I already know about him, sensei."

Kakashi shakes his head. "I know you know about it, what I want to know about is do you remember what happened in that fight?"

The boy nods. "Sasuke was dead. He... he jumped in front of me to save me. I just... I got really...  _angry_."

Kakashi is quiet for a minute. Then-

"Did it speak to you?"

He instantly knows his sensei saw his flinch. Naruto looks down at his feet before replying. "Yeah."

"Has it ever spoken to you before? In the Academy? Have you  _ever_  felt that chakra before in a moment where you were upset?"

Naruto is silent, because he knows if he tells his sensei yes, then he'll want to know more, but he can't exactly tell him more, because that means talking about that man, and he doesn't ever want to tell anyone about it ever again.

 _But would that be so bad?_  A voice in his mind asks.  _We can trust sensei with this. He might even be able to help us!_

"Naruto?"

He flinches again, and looks up slowly to see his sensei in the same spot, but his face isn't as blank. Now, it seems ever so slightly warmer.

"I felt it's chakra once before. It wasn't as... evil. It felt very heavy though. And powerful. And sometimes I have dreams. Dreams with the Kyuubi there. He laughs a lot, and there's usually blood."

"And sometimes, he'll speak to me, sensei."

Kakashi's lone eye closed. They sit still, both not saying a word for some time.

Finally, his sensei looks at him again.

"Naruto. I want you to know that if you need to ever discuss anything, you may speak with me. But if the Kyuubi ever says something to you, even if you wish to not speak of it, you must promise me one thing."

Naruto is focused on Kakashi now, his heart beating fast and his breath caught in his chest.

"Promise me, Naruto, that you will not listen to a word."

The blond can't speak, but as he feels his eyes tear, he gives a stiff nod at his sensei.

The man seems reassured, because his eye crinkled happily.

"Good. Now, I must ask you one more thing..."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Do you know how to use a laundry machine?"

* * *

Kakashi knew he was supposed to be at a meeting in the Third's office at that time, but he felt that speaking to Naruto was more important in the long run; he has a reputation for being late anyways.

Although the extra hour was because he had to drag Naruto out to buy fresh food...

Still, when he arrived at the Hokage's office, to the chuckles of the other ninja, he was met with the flat stare of Sarutobi, pipe in his mouth.

"Well, now that  _Kakashi_  has finally arrived, I can start this meeting. I'm sure you all know what it is about anyways."

"Is it already that time?" Sarutobi Asuma asked grumpily.

Shiranui Genma laughed. "Finally! I've been waiting months to see those little genin compete!"

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, the Chuunin Exams are upon us once more. Seven days from now, on the first day of the seventh moon, the exams will commence."

Hushed whispers spread through the small room.

"Now," Hiruzen said, quieting the shinobi gathered. "I would like to hear from the jounin watching over the new genin first. Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma."

The three of them stepped forward, with whispers starting again on their answers.

"Starting from Kakashi, please."

The jounin looked almost bored, but his tone was sincere.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, nominate Team 7, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura, to enter the Chuunin Exams."

Both Kurenai and Asuma followed suit. The Hokage looked surprised, but his head tilted in acceptance.

"Very well then."


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto found himself talking to a very excitable Konohamaru, a boy he'd met before a while back, and played ninja with. The boy was with his friends today, Udon and Moegi, who both enjoyed running around with Naruto as well.

They were currently racing through the village, with Naruto as "It" and after Konohamaru for his target. The Hokage's grandson rushed to turn around a corner, and was met with the body of another person- no, a  _ninja_.

"Sorry lady!" the kid called out as he got back to his feet. The pink haired girl smiled.

"It's alright- Hello Naruto!" she greeted the blonde who had emerged from around the corner as well. Her teammate waved back to her.

"Hi Sakura. Sorry Konohamaru bumped into you."

She shook her head. "As long as no one is hurt, it's okay. Still, you could watch where you're going, brat." she said, glaring slightly at the student.

"Do you want to play ninja with us, Sakura-san?" Moegi asked quietly.

"Yeah Sakura, join in!" Naruto said, grabbing her sleeve. "You can be on my team!"

"What?! Then Udon and Moegi will be on my team, and we'll beat you!" Konohamaru shouted.

"Fine, let's go! We're "It"!" Naruto replied, while Sakura looked uncomfortable.

_Why play ninja when you're already a real ninja?!_

"Run!" Konohamaru cried out, and him and his friends ran down the street, with two thirds of Team 7 chasing them.

It was actually quite fun, until Konohamaru ran into another ninja. One with a different headband.

"Hey, that hurt." the ninja said gruffly. He was dressed in dark clothing and had an object wrapped in bandages attached to him. He reached forward and grabbed Konohamaru by his collar, lifting the kid off his feet.

"Don't make trouble." his female companion said, but her tone of voice suggested that she cared little about what the other shinobi did.

Naruto and Sakura were about to intervene, but a rock flying at the mysterious ninja halted their plans. The stone hit his hand, hard enough that he dropped Konohamaru; a quick glance above revealed Sasuke in a nearby tree.

"Get lost." the Uchiha said. The ninja scoffed at him.

"I hate showoffs like you." he scowled, and began unwrapping the large bandaged item from his back. The blond girl next to him looked surprised.

"You're going to use Karasu?" she asked.

"Kankuro. Stop it."

Sasuke stiffened. Behind him, a red haired boy hung upside down on a tree branch. His face was stony and his eyes were sharp and bitter. On his back was a large brown gourd.

"You're an embarrassment to our village."

The oddly clothed ninja on the ground was sweating bullets. Even the girl next to him had wide eyes.

"G-Gaara... Listen, those Leaf ninja started it and-"

A feeling of darkness seemed to come from the red haired boy. It was heavy, and everyone could feel it.

Naruto found himself shivering. The boy was powerful, he was certain of that, but the feeling he was projecting was... ancient.  _Evil_. It felt... Like Kyuubi.

"Shut up or I'll  **kill**  you."

Kankuro was shaking just as badly as him.

"Okay, I'm sorry... so sorry..."

"I'm also sorry... really sorry..." the blond girl said cautiously.

Gaara vanished in a gust of leaves, only to reappear on the ground.

"We're early, but that doesn't mean we play around. Let's go."

"Hold on! You're from the Hidden Sand village, and although Konoha and Suna are allies, it is forbidden for shinobi from another village to enter without permission. State your purpose here!" Sakura called out.

The blond girl smirked.

"You didn't know? We're here from Suna to take the Chuunin Exams."

Naruto frowned.  _Chuunin Exams?_

Sasuke dropped down from the tree.

"You with the gourd. What's your name?"

The ninja in question glanced at him.

"Sabaku no Gaara. Yours?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Both shinobi seemed to make a silent promise.

_I will fight you._

* * *

"Morning!"

From above, their sensei popped out of nowhere.

"I know this is a bit sudden, but I've nominated you three for the Chuunin Exams!"

With a puff of smoke, he appeared in front of them, holding out three paper slips.

"Here's the application form. If you choose to take the exam, show up tomorrow with a filled out application at the Academy, room 301. Don't be later than 4:00! "

Sasuke reached out first, taking the slip and reading it over. Uncertain, Sakura took hers next. Naruto glanced at their sensei.

"It'll be dangerous, won't it?" He whispered. Kakashi nodded.

"A ninja's life is always dangerous. I won't tell you to do it or not do it though."

Nodding, Naruto grasped the slip and calmly began reading.

* * *

He met with Inoichi later that day, and told him of the red haired boy, the Chuunin Exams, and the last mission he took.

Inoichi seemed to listen to everything he said, and fired questions back at him.

_"How did you feel about Haku's death?"_

He hated Haku's death, how horrible it was, but Inoichi posed another thought to him. If he hadn't fought Haku and Zabuza, they would have killed Tazuna, leaving his family alone, and, probably lead to Gato taking over Nami no Kuni.

_"Have you been having nightmares frequently?"_

Yes, he'd told him, but he hadn't spoke much about the details. He didn't want to talk about the dark cage, the dripping blood, the way he'd been in that room, only for his body to burn in agony-

_"Do you want to talk about the Kyuubi?"_

The Kyuubi was different. It was a hard subject to talk about, because before he'd know what it was, it was just mysterious chakra, just the orange glow in the darkness of his prison. Now, though, he knew it was the malicious power of a demon over 1,000 years old who'd killed millions of people and destroyed a lot of Konoha. The same beast that spoke to him in his dreams, who taunted him and lashed out and laughed at his weakness. No, he didn't want to talk about the monster at all.

"Do you think you're are completely prepared to take the Chuunin Exams?"

"What do you mean?"

Inoichi smiled. "In my day, the Chuunin Exams were a huge deal, and happened only once every two years. You and your teammates would train for hours, sometimes not sleeping for days, all to prepare for the exams. Shikaku, Choza, and I worked our butts off. We did taijutsu training every morning until we couldn't move a muscle! I would practise genjutsu and my clan skills every afternoon. It was gruelling, but we finally left Iwa that year with chuunin vests. But we also lost quite a few friends. The exams have a high mortality rate as well. So, ask yourself this, Naruto. Are you ready for the Chuunin Exams?"

* * *

The three of them met up in front of the Academy the next day, each holding their paper slips. Even Sasuke looked a bit unsure about the prospect of the exam. There had to be hundreds of genin outside and going into the Academy, wearing various clothing and headbands.

After getting through the roadblock that had been two genin blocking the way to the third floor, and watching Sasuke nearly lose in a fight against a boy in a green jumpsuit, the trio had reached the door to room 301. Sakura was about to grab the handle of the door when Naruto stopped her.

"Wait. Guys, are you really sure we are ready to enter the exams? We only just graduated, are you sure we should already be chuunin?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Of course we should. Becoming a chuunin will help me be a more powerful shinobi. I'm taking the exam whether you're coming or not."

Naruto shook his head. "Think about this, Sasuke. People have died doing these. Are you prepared to die for a silly rank and a pay raise? We can always take the exams next time."

"People have really... died?" Sakura says quietly. Naruto nodded.

"It's not like we can't do this again another time. I... I don't want to watch you die again, Sasuke. I already did that in Wave."

Sasuke's face fell. He'd forgotten about that. The team lingers in the harsh silence for a moment.

"Well... won't we be better prepared this time then? We were separated on the bridge, but this time, we'll be all here as a team, right? We can work together." Sakura said slowly.

".....Sakura's right. Besides, a ninja is always going to be facing death. Don't worry about it, dobe." Sasuke says, but his tone has more certainty, more  _warmth_  this time.

And if Naruto is honest with himself, he's never felt like his team was a real team before more than this moment. With both Sasuke and Sakura looking determined, he had felt the worry he'd been holding onto all of that morning... just slip away.

"Alright. But as a team, to the end."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are moving along pretty well so far, I think. Having a slightly more worried Naruto is really interesting to write, I must admit. Just as a warning, I may or may not update next week, as I am participating in an international scavenger hunt known as GISHWHES, so I might be a bit too busy. Still, I hope you enjoyed today's chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

 

Their sensei pops up when they do finally open the door to take their forms, and reveals that if any of them hadn't agreed to join the exams, then all of them wouldn't be able to participate.

"The Chuunin Exams are for teams only; after all, a chuunin has to lead a team of their own, so having you all participate solo doesn't showcase your leadership skills. Besides, you won't take solo missions until you're a jounin anyways!"

They enter the room to see many genin teams waiting; less than the number trapped in the genjutsu on the second floor, but it has to be at least a third of that amount.

"Hey! Naruto!"

Turning his head, he's welcomed by the sight of Inuzuka Kiba grinning at him wolfishly, his puppy resting in the hood of his owner's coat. Behind him, Shino and Hinata gave their best "ready" faces.

"So you guys are participating in the exams too? This is going to be awesome!"

From nearby, a familiar spiky-haired genin sighed while his best friend munched on potato chips.

"All the rookie genin in the Chuunin Exams together is just asking for trouble." Shikamaru grumbled.

Next to him, Yamanaka Ino swatted his head. "Ugh, just be quiet! Don't embarrass me in front of my Sasuke-kun!"

Instantly, Sakura was in Ino's face.

"Your Sasuke-kun? If Sasuke-kun did like someone it'd be his teammate! Not some blond pig like you!" she growled.

"Like he'd love a girl with a forehead that large anyways!"

Sasuke did his best to ignore his pink-haired teammate's argument, choosing to hover not too far from Naruto. _After all, with this many ninja in one room, it's best to stick together. And better him than her and blondie._

"Hey, you kids seem a little green for the exams. Is this your first time?"

A boy with shiny silver hair and round glasses approached the group of rookies. Sasuke frowned. He really hoped to avoid drawing attention.

"You're a little loud, to be honest. Geez..."

That got Ino's attention. "Just who do you think you are?" she growled, her fight with Sakura forgotten.

"My name's Kabuto. But you shouldn't worry about me. Take a look around you."

Naruto did a quick glance, and beside him Sasuke did the same. Glaring from all sides, with a variety of headbands, ninja were looking at the rookies like bugs, waiting to be squashed underfoot.

"I can't blame you for being a bit clueless. I used to be the same, after all."

"Is this your second time in the exams, Kabuto-san?" Sakura asked politely. He chuckled.

"This is actually my seventh attempt. The exams are held twice a year, so I guess you could call it my fourth year. I actually know quite a bit about these exams, and if you'd like, I'd be willing to share a bit."

Naruto frowned. As nice as he seemed, there was something... _off-putting_ about him. He didn't like the way the older ninja held himself, the way he seemed to be so at ease with them. It didn't feel- no, he _knew_ it wasn't normal. It made him uncomfortable.

"We don't need your information, Kabuto-san. We'll be fine." he said stiffly, abeit a bit quietly.

Sasuke's head whipped to him. "What the hell are you talking about, dobe? Any advantage in this exam we can get will help us pass!"

Sakura didn't add anything on, but she seemed just as wary to let the opporitunity go by.

Naruto shook his head. "Just... trust me." he whispered to his teammate. Sasuke looked angry.

"Wait, Sasuke, Naruto may be right." Sakura said, breaking them up and pushing them away from the other shinobi a bit. "I mean, what if his information is false? He could be tricking us." the kunoichi said softly, trying not to let anyone else hear her but her teammates.

The Uchiha sighed, but didn't argue, so she knew he'd understood her words.

"Attention!"

A large cloud of smoke appeared at the front of the classroom, before revealing a large group of shinobi. The one who'd spoken was a very large man with a Konoha symbol etched onto a metal plate that was on a hat covering his entire head. Two large slashes were scarred on his face.

"Thank you for waiting. I am Morino Ibiki, and the examiner for the Chuunin Exam's first test."

* * *

The rules of the first exam were simple. Everyone received a paper exam, and had to complete it to the best of their knowledge. For every question they answered wrong, they lost one of ten points, and their final score as a team would decide if they passed. If any of them lost every point, their whole team would fail. Cheaters wuld lose two points when caught each time.

Of course, none of this mattered as the whole test was impossible for him to answer. Naruto found himself looking over the words of his test over and over again in the hopes of understand an part of it, but it made no difference. Everything went in one ear and out the other.

_Circumference? What does that even mean?!Why didn't I listen to Iruka-sensei in class more?_

Glancing around, he saw as Sakura and Sasuke seemed to be writing frantically on their own papers.

_Why is it always me that has trouble? I'm going to fail us all._

Turning his head towards the front, he took a few seconds to carefully study the examiner. The man's mere presence seemed to exert fear, it was a heavy weight in the air around him, and it was spread throughout the room. His face was sharp, cold, _merciless_.

And for a brief moment, the examiner caught his watchful eyes with his own, and a shiver went down Naruto's back. Morino Ibiki had dark eyes, like pieces of coal. Combined with the icy feeling the room had, he found himself beginning to shake.

The walls were closing in all over again, growing darker, and he was starting to hear the _drip drip_ in the back of his mind-

"Naruto-kun?" a soft voice whispered next to him. He felt a warm hand wrap around one of his, and the room came back into focus. He met the worried face of Hyuuga Hinata, who was trying to check on him discretely; pale eyes trained on his shaking form.

"T-Thank you, I'm alright." he said, voice just as quiet. She nodded, giving a faint smile.

Looking down at his paper, he read over the last question.

_Guess all I can do is hope that I can answer the last question instead. If I answer it right, I'm sure with all our points together our team will pass... right?_

* * *

"You must decide whether or not you want to take this final question or not." the head examiner said, only a few minutes from the end of the exam.

"What if we don't take it?" the blond Sand girl from before called out.

"If you don't take it, you and your team will automatically fail."

A ripple of shock passed throught the room. They'd have to answer correctly or fail the entire exam!

"There's one final rule. If you do take this question, and fail, you will never be allowed to take the Chuunin Exams ever again. Those who don't think they have what it takes, raise your hand and forfeit from the exams. I'm giving you guys some mercy here." Ibiki said, ending with a small smirk.

One by one, various people began to raise their hands, uncertainty fuelling them. Team after team was led out.

And with every hand, Naruto found himself growing more upset.

_After everything, they'll give up on becoming a chuunin this time because they're afraid? So much training, for nothing?!_

His hand shot down onto the table, and every ninja in the room looked right at him.

"I won't give up that easily. No matter how risky it is, I'm not going to back out now, and fail my team. We'll either become chuunin together or stay genin forever, but at least we won't be cowards!" he shouted, the words just flowing from him.

_I hadn't realized how much I really like this team now. I guess being together really did push us to bond like sensei wanted._

"Are you sure, child? Your entire life rides on this choice. This is your last chance to quit before it gets too hard." Ibiki said calmly, his face blank. His eyes were digging into him with ferocity, but he held fast, willing himself not to look away.

"I won't go back on my words, and I won't fall back in the face of danger. I will hold on to my nindo with pride!"

The scarred man stared at him for just a few seconds more, before smiling.

"Very well then. Everyone who is still in this room, I congratulate you on passing the first exam!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late chapter, but I didn't want to submit anything I didn't think was a fair length or quality. Even this was hard, but it helped me advance the plot, so I'm pleased with it. To be honest, the only part of the Chuunin Exams I remember vividly is the Orochimaru part, and that's only because it's such a huge deal in fanfiction. XD


End file.
